Uber rape case: Accused driver Shiv Kumar Yadav found guilty

An Indian court has found an Uber driver guilty of raping a female passenger in his taxi in the Indian capital last year, a court official said Tuesday.Shiv Kumar Yadav was also convicted of criminal intimidation, kidnapping, and endangering the woman’s life, public prosecutor Atul Srivastava told reporters.

“Maximum punishment for the crimes is life imprisonment and we will be pushing for that,” Srivastava said.

The 26-year old woman, working in a private firm, had hired the cab for a ride home.

Yadav’s lawyer D. K. Mishra said his client was not guilty and he would study the judgment before deciding on the next course of action.

The rape in December last year prompted widespread protests in India against sexual violence and led to demands for more effort to ensure women’s safety.

The woman later filed a lawsuit against Uber in a U.S. court seeking unspecified damages while accusing the company of failing to properly investigate Yadav’s background. The lawsuit was later settled out of court.

New Delhi police official Brijendra Kumar Yadav said Tuesday that criminal charges had been filed against the company in India for misrepresenting the safety of its service and criminal negligence. Investigations into that case were still going on, he said. Uber has been approached for comment regarding the investigation but has yet to receive a response.

The rape case dealt a blow to Uber, which has attracted global popularity and controversy with a service that lets passengers summon cars through an app in more than 250 cities around the world.